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Sunday, March 10, 2019

This year, I’m taking an extended blogging hiatus to walk El
Camino, a 35-day pilgrimage across Spain. So I’m planning some buffer time
before and after the trip so I won’t have to stress about keeping up with my
blog. Not that I don’t like blogging—I do! I just don’t want to promise a post
when I don’t have time to write or when I may be without internet access.

Speaking of travel, I will not be posting next Sunday (March
17th) either.

During the buffer time for my extended trip this spring, I’d
like to host some more guest bloggers. Without further ado, please welcome the
theme for April’s and May’s guest writers:

Books about a
journey.

Whether it’s a dwarfish quest to reclaim their homeland from
a dragon or a road trip to meet up with family, tell me about your favorite
books with a journey. Fantasy or contemporary, fiction or nonfiction, all are
welcome!

Travel writing.

What does it mean to live out of a suitcase? What do you
refer to as home when you’ve moved your whole live? What is the difference
between being a tourist and a local? How do you share seemingly exotic or
ordinary places with people who’ve never been? Whether you’ve travelled your
whole life or never left your own country but are an expert on the local
haunts, tell me about your experience and your tips for travel writing.

Other.

The topics listed are mere prompts. If you have an idea for
a post that doesn’t quite fit these categories, feel free to pitch your idea.
I’m open to suggestions.

Are you interested in writing a guest post? Feel free to get
in touch! Contact me by commenting on this post, sending me a message on Twitter, or by filling out the
following form:

Sunday, March 3, 2019

If you haven’t already guessed—from the globe of London in
my cover photo to my poems and posts about various places—I like to travel. There
are many things, though, that they don’t tell you about in all the pretty
little brochures. Culture shock. Jet lag. The disillusionment of place. Just to
name a few.

I’m not saying that people shouldn’t travel. I’m just saying
that every time I go someplace new, it’s never quite what I expect, in good
ways and bad. I didn’t expect Germany to have so many immigrants. I didn’t
expect Italy to look so dumpy. Then again, I didn’t expect to enjoy visiting
the German bakeries every morning any more than I expected to start drinking
cappuccinos in Italy.

Travel changes people. It teaches us about the world and our
own cultures and selves. Despite Italy’s run-down nature, it is one of the most
recycle-enthusiast countries I’ve visited. Because Germans’ often stoic behavior
and brutally-honest words, I have learned to appreciate honesty even more.

The following poem contains just a few of my thoughts on
Venice. You may recognize glimpses of the city in a previous poem, “Shadows”.

Romantic

People romanticize the canals

and arching bridges of Venice,

but have you ever gotten yourself
lost

in the sticky, humid heat

down an alley that stinks of urine?

Don’t get me wrong,

I enjoy the way I stumbled

across a bookstore with volume

after volume laid out in rows

within a bathtub, within a boat

for when the city floods.

I relished watching the glassblower

tug at the liquid fire and mold it

and pull until he set a little red
horse, solid,

on the table.

But try finding a place to park

outside the city inside a garage

where your car is no longer a car

but a sardine packed among sardines.

I would rather take the train

and not have to worry about driving

with these maniacs who don’t signal—

I would rather be told to stand

at the wrong platform—

then rush back

down the tunnel, up to the right
platform

and board a train with cracked
windows

and humid air. Pounding hearts. Less
stress.

Is it worth it all?

Taking the time to travel

to walk the trash-lined streets,

sail under the Bridge of Sighs

taste the bread topped with olive
oil and rosemary

smell the salt of the Mediterranean,

feel the cool water lap at my feet

as we escaped the throngs of people
and pigeons.

The towers are crooked here,

but even in leaning, there are blue
skies.

***

Let’s chat! What are your thoughts on travel? What’s the
last journey you took? What did you think of the poem?